I want to ride my bicycle...

Cory Band to pedal its way to the European Championships

Cory Band is preparing to travel to Ostend in Belgium on 28 April where it will fiercely defend its title of European Champion. This is the 17th consecutive appearance for the band at the competition – a modern-day record of which the band is proud, but which also brings a significant financial burden. This year the band has opted for an unusual way of raising the much needed funds.

Musical Director Philip Harper explains: “Our Band President Morgan Jones has always been ‘hands-on’ with the band, and he and I knew from the start of our relationship that we had a shared hobby in cycling. It was his idea to cycle nearly 400 miles from Wales to Ostend arriving in time for the competition, and raising money to get the band there at the same time. I then decided I could also help by cycling the trifling 80 miles to band practice one night in the lead-up to competition, when I could ‘pass the baton’ as it were to Morgan who would then continue to Belgium.

We are hoping that this ‘sponsored ride’ will help to relieve some of the financial pressure this trip will bring to the band so that we can then concentrate on our main activities of developing brass music as an art form, growing audiences for brass bands, and providing opportunities for creative expression for our members and other artists.”

Photo: The Christchurch Bicycle Band on parade in 1898. This professional band was inspired by the 1890s cycling craze. The skilled musicians and cyclists played one-handed while riding on the unpaved roads of Canterbury. The highly popular band was hired for many public occasions. They made their last ride in 1910.